Harrow



c. F'. MA'rz July 29, 1924.

HARROW Original Filed 0G13. 1l. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l EID ci. F. MA-rz July 29, 1924.

HARROW Original Filed Oct. l1. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 29, 1924.

CHARLES F. MATE, G13 DUBUQUE, IOWA.

` HARROW.

Original application led October 11, 1921, Serial No. 506,949. Divided and this application filed May 25, 1922. Serial No. 563,549.

To all fio/7mm t may concern: l

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. MATZ, a citizen of lthe United States, residing' at Dubuque, in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harrows, of which the following is va specification.

This invention relates to spiral harrows, the present application being adivision of an application filed by me October 11, 1921, Serial No. 506,949.

ln the annexed drawings, which illustrate the invention,` Y

Figure 1 is a plan view;

Fig. 2 is partly a side elevation and partly a longitudinal vertical section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section showing the axle mounting;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the mounting for the outer end of the harrow gang;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the mounting for the inner end of the gang;

Fig. 6 is a detail section of the spoke.

The harrow frame comprises a draft bar 1 which is preferably a channel bar of suitable dimensions and to which, intermediate the ends thereof, is secured a cross bar or beam 2 consisting of an angle bar having one web or flange disposed vertically and depending from the rear edge of the other flange or web. Anglebar braces 3 are secured at their front ends tothe sides of the draft bar 1 at the frontend thereof and are secured near their rear ends to the cross bar or beam 2, as clearly shown. Secured to the cross bar or beam 2 at or near the ends thereof are clamping plateswhich extend rearwardly and constitute supports forthe pans or troughs 5 constituting the upper members of the harrow gangs. These pans or troughs 5 are conveniently formed ofchannel bars andare adapted to receive large stones or other weights for the purpose of holding the gangs to their work. The pans or troughs 5 extend between the clamping plates` 4 and the rear ends of the braces 3 and on the'reai sides of the pans are secured brackets 6 which are metallic straps having' their intermediate portions offset from their ends whereby' a slot or elongated' space7 is provided between the body of the strap and the pan vto accommodate a bolt 8 inserted through the rear end of the adjacent brace 3, and the rear end of the corresponding clamping plate 4 to retain the pan inprope'r position. rlfhis arrangement applies the draft or propelling force to the rear Vside of the pan so that the harrow gang will be drawn over the field and at the same time permits the gang to be readily adjusted to the desired angle tothe line of draft and also permits it to have suiiicient independent play in a vertical plane to readily pass over large stones or` other obstructions which may be encountered. The inner ends of the pans or troughs project under the draft bar 1 and are thereby held againstrising to such an extent as would impair the etliciency of the harrow.

1 also secure rigidly to each end of the pan or trough, a pair. of standards 14 which depend from the pan or trough and pass through the ends of a head or bearing block 15, being held therein by cotter pins or other fastenings fitted to the standards below the bottom of the head. The heads are each provided with a central internally threaded opening- 16 which receives the. respective threaded end of the axle rod 17 and in the inner side-of each head is an oil chamber 18 which is adapted to receive suitable absorbent packing to hold lubircan-t supplied thereto from a grease cup 19. At the inner end of the gang, the cup 19 is mounted in the head, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and the head is provided with an annular rib or flange 20 on its inner side at its center to fit within the' annular rim 21 of a bushing 22, the said rim constituting a dust cap to prevent accumulation of sand and dirt between the bushing and the head. The bushing fits closely within the inner end of a sleeve or tube 23 upon which the spokes 24 are secured and the bushing is further provided with a lug or projection 25 fitting within a corresponding notch or recess in the end of the sleeve 23 and the h ub 26 of the end spoke so that the bushing will revolve with the spoke and the sleeve, the axle rod 17 being held stationary by reason of its threaded connection with ,the Lheads 15, as will be readil understood. It Vwill be readily noted that the lubricant from the cup 19 will be supplied to the end of the bushing and will work through between the axle rod and the bore of theV bushing so 'thatfree rotation will be insured. A. similar bushing 27 is fitted in the outer end of the sleeve or tube 28 and is secured to the 4same and the hub 28 ofthe' outer l@11d Spoke 29 by a lugBOon directly to the axle, as

the bushing fitting within la notch in the end of the sleeve. The bushing 27 is yprovided with a circular head or enlargement 31 at its outer end which tswithin a circular flange or rib 32 on the inner side of the adjacent head 15 so as to prevent accumulation of dirt and sand, and the cup 19 at the outer end of the `harrow `is carriedv fby the hub 28, the lubricant passing through alined radial openings in the hub and the bushing clearly shown in Figz. f

rlhe spokes are secured upon thetube or sleeve 23 at intervals along the saine and to the outer ends o f the spokes is secured a spiral bladeV 3,3. This' blade formed from tempered steel `and has its outer ledge beveled to a sharp edge so as to readily cut into the ground and inasmuch as the blade will present a continuous cutting edge to the ground and will rotate as the machine is drawn over the field, the Asoil will be thoroughly pulverized and placed in proper condition forsuccessful cultivation. The inner faceof'the blade is `flat and it, therefore, penetrates the soil more readily than a blade having a dished or' concave surface will penetrate. By reason of having'a sharp outer edge and a fiat inner face, the blade will ypenetrate very deeply so that a very deep seed bed can be obtained. Moreover, the flat inner face ofthe blade will nothold dirt as a dished or concaveface does, and, consequently, polishes more readily and re- 4mains 1n operative condition for a longer period than blades heretoforeknown. The outer extremities of the spokes are olset or turned, as indicated at 34, to conform to the Obliquity of the spiral kblade land thereby holdthe said blade in the proper shape to successfully cut into and wturn over and pulverize the soil. The body of each spoke yis substantially triangular in cross section,

as shown at 35 in Fig. r6, so that the inner face of the spoke will offer no obstruction to the progress of the same and the `outer face of the spoke will present an inclined surface to the soil so that it will aid in turning aside that portion of the earth which will be enteredby the 4spoke and the resistance to the forward travel of the machine will be minimized. The spokes are constructed at their inner .ends with split hubs or collars having mat-ing flanges S6 extending from their split edges to :receive clamping bolts 37, whereby they maybe effectually clamped aroundthe axle sleeve, as will be readily understood. `This construction permits the spokes to be very easily and firmly secured to the axle'sleeve and 4at the same time facilitates the removal of the gang or of any spoke when repairs or replacement may be ,necessary inasmuch Aasthe withf drawal ofthe bolts will permit the `clampf ing flanges 36 to be separated and the hub end of the spoke 1then easily slipped off the axle tube. lThe entire gang may be thus quickly removed Without disassembling the entire machine.

'Mounted upon the draft bar 1 is a seat 4standard 38 carrying a seat 39, and upon the side ofthe draft bar is mounted a setting lever 46, the lower end of which is disposed lbelow the draft bar, and links 5S connect the same with brackets 59 on the inner heads 1.5 of the front gangs of the harrow. These gangs are set' in the working position by swinging the lever 46 forwardly so that the inner ends of the gangs will be -moved rearwardly and the gangs', therefore, set so as to converge rearwardly, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Aspring is secured Ato the lower portion of the settinglever and to a tension bolt 61 Awhich mounted upon the underside ofthe draft bar in advance of :the lever to ,aid in setting the gangs in the inoperative position, the spring being expanded when the lever is swung forwardly to set the gangs and contracting as the lever is released so as to relieve the operator of a considerable por-tion of the strain involved `in bringing the gangs to a position directly across the line of draft, indicated by .the full lines in Fig. 1. It will be readily understood that the gangs are given a pivotal movement about the bolts 8 when they are adjusted as described. I

The harrow maybe drawn over the field by draft animals or by a tractor and when it is to be drawn by a tractor the draft coupling with which tractors are generally equipped may be connected to the coupling plate-64 or directly to the draft bar 1. When the-machine is to be drawn by draft animals, it is desirable that the front end of the draft bar be suitably supported so as to relieve the animals, as far as possible, of the weightV of the machine and to prevent chafing of their necks andshoulders. For this purpose, the coupling plate r64, which is secured to the lower side of the draft bar at the front end of the same, has its front end engaged between and pivoted to projections `65 on the rear side of a truck 66.

Whilethe soil may be .efficiently pulverized by the use of a harrow consisting of a single pair of spiral gangs, `l contemplate the employment of tandem gangs, the rear gangs A7 9 being duplicates, in the const-ruction and arrangement of itheir parts, of the front gangs but the rear gangs are set to converge forwardiy when the vmachine 'is in useso that they will cut into the soil in opposition to the cut of the front gangs and the soil .will thus vbe turned in 'opposite directions so that it will vbe very thoroughly pulverized and a ne mulch pro,- ducedf' l'The `braces 80 'ofi the rear' gangs constitute the draft-applying members thereof and are connected" atf-ther 4front ice ends to the rear end of the draft bar 1 by a coupling plate 81. To set the rear gangs, I provide a rocking arm or lever 82 which is fulcrumed in the front forked end of a bracket 83 upon'the cross bar or beam 84 which is secured to and extends between the braces 80. The lower end of this lever or rocking arm 82 is connected by links 85 with brackets 86 on the inner heads 15 of the front gangs and the upper end of the said lever or rocking arm is connected by links 87 with the brackets 88 on the inner heads of the rear gangs. The links 87 obviously are bent so as to extend downwardly and clear the inner ends of the weight pans or troughs of the rear gangs, and it will be readily understood that when the inner ends of the Ifront gangs are moved rearwardly to bring the said gangs into the working position, the motion will be transmitted through the links 85, the lever 82 and the links 87 so that the inner ends of the rear gangs will be moved forwardly.

A link 89 is tted around the standards of the inner heads of the rear gangs to prevent them moving apart laterally during adjustment.

The ends of the spiral blades' are so disposed that they are located at the .same circumferential point in all the gangs so that the forward end of a blade enters the ground at the same instant the rear end leaves the ground and the entering ends of all the gangs engage the ground at the same time. Thus, there is always the same length of blade working in each gang and side draft is prevented.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A spiral harrow comprising a spiral blade, an axle and spokes, the outer ends of the spokes being disposed obliquely to conform to the shape of the blade andtsecured thereto and the inner ends of the spokes being formed into split hubs adapted to encircle the axle and be clamped thereto.

2. A harrow comprising a stationary axle, heads secured upon the ends of the axle, means for supplying lubricant to the interior of said heads,pbushings disposed adjacent the said heads around the axle and rotatable upon the axle, a tube fitted upon said bushings and extending between the same, means for connecting the sleeve to the bushings whereby the sleeves and bushings will rotate together, a plurality of spokes secured to the sleeve, and a spiral blade carried by the outer ends of the spokes.

3. In a spiral harrow, the combination of a spiral blade, a plurality of spokes supporting said blade, a tube extending from end to end of the spiral blade through the hubs of the spokes, the hubs of the spokes being secured around the said tube, bushings fitted in the ends of the tube and locked to the same and the adjacent spokes, an axle rod extending through the tube and the bushings, heads `secured upon the ends of the axle and provided with central lubricating chambers, lubricant holders carried by said heads and communicating with said chambers, and interengaging ribs and recesses upon the heads and the bushings.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

CHARLES F. MATZ. [1.. s] 

